Shoemanic

03|06_2012 Mission Possible

There is one recurring trend regardless of season, age or size (though mainly in summer): The trend to get married.
Those of you who have ever been involved in this sort of preparation and planning-frenzy know there are a lot of checks to be done before the big event.
The dress check (aka big issue-check), the high-heel check (obviously), the guest list check (how to cut from 200 to 80 without treading on people’s toes), the cake check (hello calories), the wine check (hello headache), and of course: the location check.

This is why today I find myself in the middle of nowhere and since it’s a very secret mission I had no idea what the dress code would be.
Chose something…hmmm rural-urban and so not (!) appropriate for a romantic setting surrounded only by nature (read: muddy puddles).
But hey: Overknees while hopping clumsily from muck into more muck? Absolutely possible, if you don’t mind causing some laughter amongst farmers. And if you include your own mission: rescuing dear leather heels from chunks of rocks and cow dung for hours. Mission ridiculous? So totally “check”.

xxx

P.S.: Today’s shoes are Paul Warmer

02|06_2012 Moods

The weather is one of the most discussed topics in Amsterdam and buienradar.nl seriously the most visited website nationwide (I am no exception, the site is even ranked higher on my computer than any shoe-outlet site - actually quite scandalous…).
Holland is one of those exceptional countries where you can experience 4 seasons in one day. It can be tricky, annoying, surprising and moody.
I came to the conclusion that this is not so different from us ladies.
And our temper and moods…

Found myself grumpy for no reason yesterday. After an actually perfect (and sunny) day: “bam” all of a sudden, emotional clouds everywhere.
A friend of mine confessed she often goes from rather cool business mood (winter) right into cheery mood after work (“spring” after one drink, “summer” after two…), and who can’t think of at least one situation where a single event can cause an emotional thunderstorm (thunderbolt and heavy rain - aka tears) seemingly out of the blue?

Of all various moods (a bit cloudy this morning) I just checked for the rest of today.
Jipieh, all sunny and blue sky: perfect conditions to grab some summer-inspired sandals and enjoy a lovely day. I hope you do so too!

xxx

Today’s shoes are Paul Warmer
If you somehow find yourself experiencing an “emotional weather dip”, just go there! Sure to cheer you up immediately :)

01|06_2012 Wonderland

Sollenau (next to Vienna) is a small village where the fox and the hare bid each other goodnight. It would also be the dullest place on earth (sorry Sollenauers…) if it weren’t for one of the most fancy shoe stores in Austria: “Wunderl”.
Back in the day (before everything was just a mouse click away), this was the only place selling Prada, Tod’s, Guiseppe Zanotti, Stuart Weitzman and all the other delicious brands that make a heel-addict’s heart skip a beat.

Once upon a time, some 12 years ago, a little girl with a big bonus from work went in “just to have a look”. It took her all of 60 minutes to spend ALL of what she had earned, stocking up on the loveliest of heels, feeling very much like Alice in Wonderland.
In shoe-Wunderl-wonderland that is. And, you guessed right: the gal was me.
It was the beginning of an enduring love affair with beautiful shoes, detailed design in a size 37 (the only size which has never changed through all the yo-yo’s in my life), and in a sense the origin of this very blog.

All these years later, not much has changed: Dolce is even using the same patterns this summer as they did back then. And I still feel very “Alice”, wishing my shoes would miraculously multiply overnight.
Like bunnies. In or out of Wonderland: I wouldn’t care.

xxx

Today’s shoes are Dolce and Gabbana (vintage, not available anymore)
But hey! Today’s bunnies are as sweet and still available at www.knotsknetter.nl

27|05_ Like…alike

My sister has arrived in town…. with 10 girlfriends in tow: school reunion!
Well you know there is some truth to the saying: two is fun, three is a mess. But 10?
I’m sure you can do the math. After arranging a house for the lovelies to stay, a reservation at Amsterdam’s hottest spot to hang on a sunny weekend (Vondelpark) and a bill at Albert Heijn that could feed an average family for a month, (or pay for a nice addition to the shoe closet :-)) we are settled on our picnic blankets, finally chilling.

Chilling? Someone needs to set up a photo shoot, and of course my sweet sister has to be in it. Well yeah. Seems that some things (aka stubbornness) run in the family as my sister totally refuses to change clothes for the shoot, and brought (when I told her to bring her most precious heels) BALLERINAS instead.

As 9 pairs of legs (without shoes) stretch out on green grass, we unfold an extra blanket, looking (my sister’s words): “as authentic as we are”. At least she allows me to pimp one of her body parts (nail polish so (!) counts as styling too… :-))

Like “alike” to what I had planned? Not at all.
But very much like…  “I love”.

xxx

Today’s shoes are Zara and Alessandro Bonciolini

26|05_2012 Build me a brand, buy me shoes

Mango has a return policy, which is fortunate when you fall in love with a pair of shoes (same for clothes btw) and just buy them without trying them on first. Which I do. OFTEN. What I tend to forget is to return them on time (after discovering at home that summer also means your feet tend to go up a size due to heat… or was it that tub of ice-cream I had yesterday?).

Anyway. Found myself at the return-counter the other day totally rejected (missed date of return by a mere 24 hours…) thinking: why is it that still no one is delivering to ME? Will TOTALLY work for shoes!
While trotting away (blush of shame almost matching my neon pink T), I decided to do something about it. Luckily, BFF of Boyfriend is specialized in building brands and his new creative office (“Brandbridge” nomen est omen) just got a “brand” new client: me!

So here I am, Saturday morning, all dressed up in a little vintage (understatement) pink shoes (statement!) ready for my meeting and to be utterly convincing with my idea: “Build me a brand, buy me shoes”.
Until that happens you can find me at a high street counter of your choice.
I’m the one fumbling with an expired bill.

xxx

Today’s shoes are not (!) Mango…

22|05_2012 Rise and shine!

Morning hours are not my thing. As in absolutely not, exclamation mark! Even after a full 8 hour beauty sleep I manage to either oversleep or run late (wherever I have to go). My bedtime routine consists of figuring out how to get up in time, setting three alarm clocks (one after the other, none within arm’s reach…). But no matter how early I have to jump out of bed to shut down beeping, ringing and humming devices: it never works. It’s very annoying and believe me: not fashionable at all (who came up with that phrase anyway?).

Bad dressing choices are made due to running out of time, sweaty, Louboutin-red  face is sported to early meetings because of hectic running and don’t even get me started about the grim facial expression worth a 100 Botox injections (and that’s for the bad conscience).

I wonder how the hell all the other ladies do it? 

Secretly I expect they have already worked out my latest trick to get up bright and 100 percent positive: by displaying favorite (hottest and newest) pair of heels next to bed. This works as an instant eye-opener (think rise and heel, making you jump out of PJs in no time, wanting to put those babies on NOW!). Might possibly forget to shower due to heel-excitement the upcoming days. But that’s another story and will be told another time…

xxx

Today’s shoes are Camilla Skovgaard

19|05_2012 The girl who trod on the loaf

While I was sick last week, mainly feeding on soup and tea, I completely forgot about a loaf of bread which survived almost a week without any signs of decomposition. “Hmmm” - I thought: “I wonder how many preservatives are hidden in this?”
This reminded me of the Andersen fairytale “The girl who trod on the loaf”.
For those who are not familiar with the story: very vain (but presumably stylish) girl uses a piece of bread as a steppingstone to keep from soiling her (fancy) heels while crossing a dirty puddle. She sinks, ends up with the ugly Marsh Woman and has to pay for her naughty tempers for the rest of her existence.

So far, so good: in a way I totally agree with the poor girl. Although I probably wouldn’t abuse something edible, I definitely try to protect my heels when it comes to puddles and such. Think all things wet, sand, heel-insecure means of transportation, small men (that’s more for self protection though: who wants to stare at baldness), etc.

So I couldn’t help but wonder if Inge (the girl’s name) would have been better off with a loaf of Dutch bread in her hand.
Obviously packed with chemical substances, light as a feather as it lacks all healthy (heavy) full grains, she would have slid elegantly to the other side.
The best thing? You can easily squeeze these types of dutch pastries into a Fendi baguette-clutch (no pun intended… :-)).
The bad thing? If my bakery of choice reads this, they will never greet me again.
Who cares: carbs are so 2011 anyway.

xxx

Today’s shoes are Topshop

18|05_2012 It’s all about the red carpet, baby

The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing and while it’s a madhouse for everybody working or promoting there, it’s a red carpet voyeur’s delight to watch the parade of designer garments passing by on an hourly basis.
For those who aren’t familiar with the tiny gem on the French Riviera: Cannes is a bit like Sin City or a very expensive call girl during festival season (that’s basically the whole year): Feeding on those who come to celebrate their peers (ranging from film to plummer festival: Cannes covers it all), pampering them with unreal parties, flattering attention, utter glamour and a very unhealthy schedule.

Cannes also only has three rules: “What happens in Cannes stays in Cannes”, “shine shine shine”, and “sleep when you are dead”. In three letters: F.U.N.!!!!!!!

I will be enjoying the frenzy from home, watching the movies and the vanity fair from afar (I’m in advertising and this festival takes place later this year). Nonetheless a perfect exercise to spot trends and dream about which shoes to pack when a famous movie star (ergh, not in this lifetime I’m afraid), or at least when hitting a red carpet somewhere closer to home (you never know, can happen any time).

So today it’s all about my spot-light-shoe wish list, with only one rule: Pick the most shiny, fragile, stand-out, sky high heel you are sure not to survive five minutes walking in it. But hey: it’s all about the red carpet, baby!

xxx

Today’s shoes are (left) Guiseppe Zanotti, Jean-Michel Cazabat, Sergio Rossi, Phillip Plein, (right) Casadei, Jimmy Choo, Rupert Sanderson, Nicholas Kirkwood

16|05_2012 Damsel in distress

Chanel presented its Cruise Collection the other day, and the only reason I wasn’t in Versailles is that Karl forgot to send over his private jet. I know he meant no harm and am sure his mind was on more important things: a collection for example.
This very one is a mixture of Louis XIV having dated Heidi but couldn’t let go of his Indian Mistress. Eyewitnesses whisper Karl was inspired by outfits once worn by Gallic monarchs and nobles, but I assume wherever his input came from: he must have been high on “denim” while designing.

Feeling inspired myself now, I need to quickly stock up on the new ingredients for this key summer look. In heels and motivated I hit the town and get completely carried away with my buys. Embroidered jackets, Indian Saris, ruffled blouses, brocade trims, a French cookbook of the 17th century, the biography of Marie Antoinette, and to round everything up the new issues for contemporary information: Elle, Harpers Bazar, Vogue….. I can’t carry anything more. And I can’t walk anymore either. My feet burn as though Louis XIV himself has made me dance ballet all night and my carriage (aka bike) breaks down under the load I end up schlepping home (very un-Chanel).

Luxury problems I know, but I’m sure you can imagine I have secretly sworn never EVER to wear high heels again when going shopping?

Today’s shoes are Karen Millen

10|05_2012 Long live Photoshop!

If I hadn’t been down with the flu I totally would have told you sooner that I was approached with the request to do an interview for a Dutch magazine called (translated) “Shoe Vision” at the beginning of this week. This came completely out of the blue and utterly flattered and excited I accepted.
I do now find myself freaking out a little at the request to include a “portrait picture” in the article though. I mean, hell yeah, the legs are in shape. Shaved, polished, rubbed with baby oil every day, caressed with Dr. Scholl feet lotion and spoiled with attention. The face: not so much (I wouldn’t recommend Dr. Scholl as a facial treatment anyway).

This is quite the dilemma. Botox will only show after a couple of days (the interview is scheduled for tomorrow), a chemical peel will make me look like a baboon’s butt, and I totally forgot about my (self-fabricated) haircut which only works in combination with a rubber band and a pot of fudge. In a panic I focus on outfit (lovely Ellen Benders dress today) and shoes, but I’m afraid this won’t do the job.

However, after having photoshopped today’s picture (at least one form of shopping after two days of illness, I did get a little swept away :-)…. I am pretty confident there must be a Photoshop app that can retouch my (still) red nose and the odd wrinkle for my portrait. Problem solved, Shoe Vision, here I come!

xxx

Today’s shoes are Tiffi and available exclusively at Daniele Dentici